Mike Dickerman: Outdoors books for the gift list

Sunday

Nov 28, 2010 at 3:15 AM

It's hard to believe the holiday shopping season is upon once again, since it was only a few weeks back that we were all marveling at the annual autumn color show known as fall foliage season. Like it or not, though, the time to start whittling away at the gift list has arrived.

In keeping with a tradition that I started more than two decades ago, I hereby present my annual list of new books appropriate for New Hampshire outdoor enthusiasts. The books are presented in no certain order, but be rest assured that all are on my personal Top 10 list for the 2010.

Forest Forensics by well-known Granite State ecologist Tom Wessels is an excellent new companion guide to the author's previously published book, Reading the Forested Landscape. Recently published by Countryman Press of Woodstock, Vt., Forest Forensics is essentially a field guide to the landscape of northern New England. Generously illustrated with dozens of full-color photographs, the book enables its users to identify past uses of land by examining the trees, soil, rocks, and stone walls.

In that same vein, Nature Guide to the Northern Forest by Peter J. Marchand is another great new guide for interpreting our forested landscape. Part field guide, part natural history narrative, this full-color field guide from the Appalachian Mountain Club helps users identify and understand the complex influences that shape the flora and fauna of northern New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. It includes chapters on forest succession, plant communities, the changing seasons, and the impacts of climate change.

Another interesting and unique new guide published earlier this year is The Presidential Range: Its Geologic History and Plate Tectonics. Written by J. Dykstra Eusden and published by The Durand Press of Lyme, this guide examines the bedrock geology of Mount Washington and the Presidential Range and includes a spectacular full-color fold-out geologic map of the region. Now if geology isn't really your thing, this book and map might be a bit too technical in nature, but if you do have an interest in geology, and a fondness for New Hampshire's highest mountain range, you'll fall in love with book.

For the outdoor adventurer, there are a number of great new guides that have also been published in 2010. For hiking enthusiasts, I really like Lisa Densmore's Hiking the White Mountains, which describes in great detail more than three dozen of the best hikes in the Whites. These include hikes suitable for all ability levels. Despite the title, the book actually features descriptions to several New Hampshire peaks situated outside of the Whites. Among these are popular Mount Monadnock, Mounts Cardigan and Kearsarge in the central part of the state, and Smarts Mountain in the Upper Connecticut River valley. Meanwhile, classic White Mountain hikes covered in the book include the Franconia Ridge loop, remote Mount Carrigain, and Mount Willard at the head of Crawford Notch.

For trampers looking to go further afield, then check out 100 Classic Hikes in New England by Jeff Romano. Published by The Mountaineers, this guidebook includes hikes from each of the six New England states guide. What sets this guide apart from others are the full-color photos and topographical maps that accompany each of the hikes described in the book. As one veteran hiking guide author said to me recently, "This is the Cadillac of hiking guidebooks."

Two other guidebooks of note from this year are Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast by David Goodman and Quiet Water: New Hampshire and Vermont by John Hayes and Alex Wilson.

Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, which was released earlier this fall by the Appalachian Mountain Club, describes 50 classic ski tours in upstate New York and northern New England. The ski tours range from day trips to multiday hut-to-hut adventures, and include such Mount Washington classics as Tuckerman Ravine, Burt and Ammonoosuc Ravines, and Gulf of Slides.

The new third edition of Quiet Water: New Hampshire and Vermont is an updated and revised canoe and kayak guide to the best ponds, lakes, and easy rivers in the Twin States. Close to 100 trips are described, including paddling adventures on Vermont's Lake Champlain and along the Connecticut River.

To round out my list for this year, here are a few titles geared more toward New Hampshire history buffs:

Logging Railroads of New Hampshire's North Country by Vermonter Bill Gove is the fourth in the author's continuing series of books chronicling the logging railroad era in New Hampshire's White Mountains and North Country. In this book he covers the history of a half dozen lines that operated primarily north of the great mountain notches. Like all his previous books, this one is full of great old photos of the loggers and trains that worked the woods more than a century ago.

Peaks and Paths: A Century of the Randolph Mountain Club by Judith Maddock Hudson was published in conjunction with RMC's current 100th anniversary year. In this beautifully done hardcover book, readers will learn the history behind the club's many paths and camps, read about the men and women who built many of the club's trails, and enjoy looking at more than 160 vintage photos and illustrations;

Extreme New England Weather by WMUR-TV meteorologist Josh Judge takes a look at some of the New England region's greatest weather events of the past, including the Hurricane of 1938, and the great floods of 1927 and 1936. A host of other well known New England area television meteorologists have also contributed to this book, which also features many historic photos, including two dozen color images.

Mike Dickerman is a longtime hiking enthusiast, award-winning columnist, author or co-author of nine books related to the White Mountains region of New Hampshire. He lives in Littleton.